It is known that headlights, on account of their location, play a major role in the passive safety of vehicles, since during an accident in which a pedestrian is involved, the latter frequently strikes one of the headlights of the vehicle.
In the case of an adult pedestrian of average size, the part of the body coming directly into contact with the headlight is the hip, this possibly having serious consequences on the functioning of the lower limbs.
In the case of a child, it is his or her head that strikes the headlight. It is unnecessary to detail the consequences which may ensue.
Conscious of these problems, manufacturers have, already for some time now, proposed solutions aimed at reducing the injuries suffered by individuals in the event of an impact with a headlight.
Reference may in particular be made to French patent No. FR-2 501 334, or to its American equivalent No. U.S. Pat. No. 4,475,148.
Reference may also be made to the German patent application published under the number DE-100 30 373.
The solutions described by these documents propose that elastic means for absorbing part of the energy of the impact be interposed between the headlight and the structure of the vehicle.
These solutions have enjoyed some commercial success, but they nevertheless have a certain number of drawbacks.
On the one hand, the safety that they guarantee to the pedestrian can be enhanced, in particular in relation to the new standards in regard to passive safety, which are defined by bodies such as the EEVC (European Enhanced Vehicle-Safety Committee) or the Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Program).
It must be recognized that these standards, regarding which these bodies may be consulted directly, are extremely demanding.
On the other hand, the known solutions are rather complex and involve, for the most part, a thorough revision of the general design of the headlight. This requires relatively considerable human, technical and financial means, as well as giving rise to fine-tuning schedules that are often incompatible with the demands of automobile manufacturers.
Furthermore, the known headlights are rather bulky, and this may prove to be incompatible with the room available under the hood of the compact vehicles that represent the major part of the market share.
The invention is aimed in particular at alleviating the aforesaid drawbacks of the known headlights. In satisfying the new passive safety standards, by proposing a headlight which is both compact and of relatively simple design, and, while meeting the usual demands in terms of lighting and esthetics, improves the safety of pedestrians in the event of an impact.